Fire extinguisher



Patented Nov. 20, 1945 Glenn G. Griswold and Floyd LeeL'ast Los Angeles,Calif., assignors to'JJf. -Leonard Hull,

Los Angeles, Calif.

Application November 7, 1921-1, Serial `No. 118,144

(o1. .resa-'32) 1`3`lai`r`ns.

Our present invention relates to lire extingishers, and particularly tomeans for initiating thesame.

Th 'invention disclosed herein is an improvefrne'nt 'of the `nreextinguisher disclosed on our for-nier `patent application, SerialNumber 406,- 278,- flled August 11, 1941.

One of the principal objects of the improvements of this invention is toprovide a novel ne'a'ns Tor gripping and collapsing a shatterablereceptacle from a remote position, and more speciically when thereceptacle 'is enclosed or concealed ina tight or sealed container.

tKn'o'ther important 'object of this invention is to provide a nreextinguisher in which separate `reacting chemicals Y'are contained inseparate usl'iatterable receptacles, and 'in which novel -rneansareprovided for easily 'and electively'shattering the receptacles from theoutside of the in n Jcontainer for releasing the chemicals therein;

An important object also is the provision of `novel and simple means foreasily forcing jaws or bars to grip tightly and clamp, over its wholelength, the receptacle to be broken, and thereby quickly dischargethecontents of the receptacle.

A further object of this invention is to provide a nre extinguisherembodying the foregoing features in a compact unit which may be easilyattached to or inserted into a main container, land which may also beeasily removed therefrom, Afor reloading the unit with fresh chemicals.

With these and other objects in View, we have devised a r'e extinguisherhaving certain novel 'features of construction, combination, and ar-"rangement of parts a'nd portions, as will be hereinater described indetail and particularly set "forth in the appended claims, referencebeing had to the accompanying drawing and to the charac- 'ters ofreference thereon, which form a part of this application i-n which:

AFig. `1 is a side elevation of a re extinguisher embodying the variousfeatures of our invention, portions being broken away and `in section tofacilitate the illustration;

Fig. -2 isa plan view thereof.;

` Fig. 3 is an enlarged sectional view thereof, showing particularly thechemical-containing cartridge therefor, parts being also shown brokenaway 'and in section to facilitate the illustration;

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary elevation of the lower portion of the cartridgetaken at a, right angle to that shown 'in Fig. 3:

Figs. 5 and 6 are transverse 'sections taken through and 6 16ofFigLBrand Aig.V 7, is a transverse section 'taken through 1-1 o'iFig.2l. y

Ou-r re extinguisher, as in the former appli'- cation, is enclosed in al'nain container or tank Il., having a discharge hose 2 connected 'toAthe upper portion of the container or tank l. At the upper end of thecontainer is a filling opening le, which is normally closed by fa ringscrew cap V3 having a ring or handwhe'el 3a to facilitate the securingor removal ofthe cap.

Within the container is st'or'ed a rsupplyfo'f solvent 'I l, which inthis instance is Water, for reacting with the other chemicals, as willbe described hereafter. l

At the upper 'end and axial portion of the `container vI 'are placed thechemicals which are to be 'mixed with the water to form the re eX-'tinguishins agent. These enemies-1s, designated |42 and 13, arecontained in a cylindrical tube M, all 'forming part of a 'cartridge A.This lcari-,ridge is carried by, or suspended from, 'the cap 3. Thelower en d of the cartridge extends below the surface of the water II.The cartridge is so arranged ln the container `l thatI it may be easilyremoved and replaced by another, as will 4be hereinafter more clearlydescribed.

The tube i4 is made ci 4readily destructible or shatterable material,such as thin glass, with a closed bottom end. The top of the tube ishermetically sealed by any suitable seal, such as by parafhn l5. Thetube is, also divided intermediate its ends, by a parain wad i6, intotwo 'separate lower 'and Vupper chambers or recepta'cl'esV 'H and Mb,which are hermetically separated. 'In these receptaclesare placed,respectively, vthe chemicals i12 and i3. The lower chemical l2 Vmaybesodium bicarbonate (NaHCOa), andthe chemical inthe upper receptacle i3may be oXalic acid (H2C2'O4'2H2O), both preferably indr'y'powdered`form.

The bottom end of Athe tube i4 rests on spring 2i carried by the cap 22which is removably secured, by vbayonet lockingv means 23, to the lower`end of an open cylindrical cage Vframe 2li. The upper end 'ci' the cageframe is screwably secured to a boss 3b 'at the underside of and coaxialwith the cap 3.

Over the outer-side rof the cage frame is removably placed a cylindricalwire mesh cage 25. The lower end of the cage may be secured to the cap22, and ispreierabl'y removed therewith from the cage frame. The upperend of the cage may abut'a collar 2liEL near the upper end of the cagevfrfmnez'a.

At theuders'i'de'ofthe cap 3 'are links or rocker arms 3| which arepivoted intermediate their ends on lugs 32- extending downwardly from asupport 32 which, in this instance, is a nut, as will be hereinafterdescribed. The links or rocker arms are radially arranged with respectto the axis of the cap 3, the tube |4, and cage frame 24. On the outerends of the rocker arms are pivotally suspended the tube gripping andshattering bars 33, there being two of such bars whichare located atdiametrically opposite sides of the tube. The lower ends of the bars arelocated with respect to each other by a split resilient band 34.

[The bars 33 are forced inwardly as they are raised by rocking thelinksy or rocker arms 3|. The means for forcing the bars 33 inwardlyconsists of a plurality of pairs of wedges 35 and 36, the former carriedby the cage frame 24 and the latter by the bars 33. The cage 24 lhas aplurality of transverse rings 24h, which are spaced apart and securedtogether by longitudinal straps 24C. Each of the rings are provided atopposite sides, and specifically at the intersection of the straps, withthe wedges 35. The wedges 36 are c-arried on the outer sides of the bars33 opposite the wedges 35, with which they engage. As the bars 33 areraised, the wedges 35 force the wedges 35 inwardly, and thereby forceinwardly the bars 33. To permit such inward movement of the bars, thebearing or pivot portions of the rocker arms are longitudinal slots 3|a.

The inner ends of the rocker arms 3| are engaged by a wide ordisc-shaped head Ma at the inner end of the plunger 4|, which isreciprocally mounted at the axial portion of an externally threadedsleeve 42 which in turn is secured in the axial portion of the cap 3.The head ||2a at the outer end of the sleeve may be drawn tightlyagainst the upper side of the c-ap 3 by the nut 32 mentioned above, or,as shown, the sleeve may be screwed into the cap and may be locked rinplace by the nut'32.

The plunger 4| is sealed with respect to the sleeve 42 by means of astung box 43, as shown.

The plunger 4| is adapted to be forced inwardly by means of a cam |a atone end of a lever 5|, said end being pivoted between lugs 42b whichextend upwardly from the opposite sides of the sleeve 42. The free oropposite end of the lever 5| extends beyond the ring 3a of the cap 3,and is provided beyond the ring 3a with a loop portion 5|b to facilitatethe manipulation of the lever.

It will be noted that the cross-sections of the inner sides of the barsor jaws 33 are concave or undercut, as indicated by 33a in Figs. 6 and7, for receiving and more securely gripping the tube I4, to preventmovement and breaking of the tube during ordinary handling ofthe lireextinguisher.

It will also be noted that the head or lower end of the cap 22 is open,or is covered with wire mesh 22a, to allow water or other solvent alsoto enter from below.

Though we have shown and described a particular construction,combination, and arrangement of parts and portions, we do notwish to belimited to the same, but desire to include in the scope of ourinvention, the construction, combination, and arrangement, substantiallyas set forth in the appended claims.

We claim:

l. A fire extinguisher, comprising a pressure container, a plurality ofaxially aligned receptacles extending into the container from the wallthereof, a different chemical in each receptacle,

`and means extending outwardly beyond the wall from a position adjacentsaid receptacles, said means comprising bars extending longitudinally ofthe receptacles, and spaced circumferentially from each other withrespect to the receptacles, and means for contracting said bars aroundthe receptacles and thereby rupturing the same.

2. A re extinguisher, comprising a pressure container, a plunger at oneend of the container,

links pivotally mounted within said container at said end, said linksbeing adapted to be rocked by the plunger, a plurality of bars, onedepending from each of the links, a shatterable chemical containerlocated between the bars, and means for contracting the bars withrespect to each other when the same are moved longitudinally.

3. A nre extinguisher, comprising a pressure container, a plunger at oneend of the container, links pivotally mounted within said container atsaid end, said links being adapted to be rocked by the plunger, aplurality of bars, one depending from each of the links, a foraminousenclosure depending within the container around the bars, a shatterablechemical receptacle located between the bars and carried by theenclosure, and wedge means between the bars and the Wall of theenclosure for contracting the bars with respect to each other when thesame are moved longitudinally.

4. A fire extinguisher, comprising a pressure container having anopening, a cap for the opening, a plurality of axially alignedreceptacles supported by the cap in the container, a diierentgas-forming chemical in .each receptacle, said chemicals being capableof reacting to create a,

gas, and means extending through the cap from the outside of thecontainer rupturing all of the receptacles, said means comprising barsextending longitudinally of the receptacles, and spacedcircumferentially from each other with respect to the receptacles, andmeans for contracting said bars around the receptacles and therebyrupturing the same.

5. A re extinguisher, comprising a pressure container having an openingat one end, a cap for the opening, a plunger reciprocal axially lwithinthe cap, links pivotally mountedon the inside of the cap, said linksbeing adapted to be Yrocked by the plunger, a plurality of bars, one

depending from each of the links, a shatterable chemical containerlocated between the bars, and means for contracting the bars withrespect to each other when the same are moved longitudinally.

6. A re extinguisher, comprising a pressure container having an openingat one end, a cap for the opening, aplunger reciprocally mounted withinand at the axial portion of the cap, links pivotally mounted on theinside of the cap, said links being adapted to be rocked by the plunger,a, plurality of bars, one depending from each of the links, a foraminousenclosure depending from the cap around the bars, a shatterable chemicalreceptacle located between the bars and carried b-y the enclosure, andwedge means between the bars and the wall of the enclosure forcontracting the bars with respect to each other when the I same aremoved longitudinally.

'LA fire extinguisher, comprising a pressure container having an openingat one end, a cap for the opening, a plunger reciprocally mounted withinand at lthe axial portion of the cap, links the outer end of each link,a shatterable chemical receptacle located between the bars andsubstantially coaxial with the plunger and supported by the cap, andmeans for contracting the bars with respect to each other for rupturingthe receptacle when the plunger is moved longitudinally.

8. A fire extinguisher, comprising a pressure container having anopening at one end, a cap for the opening, a plunger reciprocallymounted within and at the axial portion of the cap, links pivotedintermediate their ends on the inside of the cap, said links radiatingoutwardly from the axis of said cap and adapted to be rocked by theplunger, a plurality of bars, one depending from the outer end of eachlink, a foraminous enclosure depending from the cap around the bars, ashatterable chemical receptacle located between the bars and carried bythe enclosure, and means for contracting the bars with respect to eachother when the same are moved longitudinally.

9. A fire extinguisher, comprising a pressure container, a shatterablechemical receptacle located within the container, a plurality of barsextending longitudinally of the receptacle and spaced circumferentiallyfrom each other with respect to the receptacle, and means on the outsideof the container for contracting the bars around the receptacle andthereby rupturing the same.

11. A nre extinguisher, comprising a pressure container having anopening at one end, a cap for the opening, a plunger reciprocallymounted Within and at the axial portion of the cap, a link pivotallymounted on the inside of the cap and adapted to be rocked by theplunger, a bar depending from the link, a fora'minous enclosureldepending within the container around the bar,

a shatterable chemical receptacle carried by the enclosure and locatedadjacent the bar, and means in association with the bar and the wall ofthe enclosure for causing the bar to engage the receptacle, when the baris moved longitudinally by the link, for shattering the receptacle.

12. A flre extinguisher, comprising a pressure container, a plunger atone end of the container, links pivotally mounted within said containerat said end, said links being adapted to be rocked by the plunger, aplurality of bars, one connected to each of the links, a shatterablechemical container located between the bars, and means for contractingthe bars with respect; to each other when the same are movedlongitudinally.

13. A re extinguisher, comprising a pressure container, a plunger at oneend of the container, links pivotally mounted within said container atsaid end, said links being adapted to be rocked by the plunger, aplurality of bars, one connected to each of the links, a foraminousenclosure depending within the container around the bars, a shatterablechemical receptacle located between the bars and carried by theenclosure, and Wedge means between the bars and the wall of theenclosure for contracting the bars with respect to each other when thesame are moved longitudinally.

GLENN G. GRISWOLD. FLOYD J. LEE.

